“It was very informative. I think it went okay,” said Ballard of her interview.

Ballard said she was disappointed after several officers, along with former chief Louis Kealoha and his wife, Katherine, were indicted last week on conspiracy charges.

“I was not involved in this administration whatsoever. I was very marginalized, because I was very vocal,” she said.

“My integrity and ethics, there is no way I would allow that to happen. And my friends, if they’re actually put in a position, they know they’re going to have to work harder than anybody else to prove themselves because they’re my friends,” Ballard added. “People will not be promoted because they’re friends. They’ll be promoted for their competency, and as long as you put competent people in place, this shouldn’t happen.”….

SA: …Earlier this month, Ballard said she has been outspoken “regarding the problems and concerns regarding ethical decisions that were made for the last seven years,” the span of Kealoha’s term.

“There is a lack of trust of the leaders of the department both internally and externally,” she said. Training of officers needs to change “to move away from the warrior mentality and more to the guardian mentality.” Community trust begins with community policing, she said.

“HPD also needs to do a better job investigating cases where officers are involved,” Ballard said. “Too many officers that are fired for just reasons are returned to work and some officers that are fired should not have been.”….

“Chief Susan Ballard has a major challenge in restoring public trust in the leadership of the Honolulu Police Department. Mayor Caldwell and his administration look forward to sitting down with Chief Ballard very soon to discuss the long-term vision for HPD and a way forward in restoring the highest degree of confidence in our police department. Officers and members of the public want a leader who lives up to the department’s mission statement of ‘Integrity, Respect and Fairness,’ and we are confident that this is what Chief Ballard will work toward each and every day. On behalf of Mayor Caldwell, I congratulate Chief Ballard on being selected O‘ahu’s first female police chief, and thank Acting Chief Cary Okimoto for his decades of public service and the outstanding job he has done during the interim period.

Additionally, we thank the Honolulu police commissioners for their hard work and diligence throughout this process.